Engraver switch



March-22, 1960 MELLEMA 2,929,144

ENGRAVER SWITCH Filed Jan. 24. 1955 7 IN V EN TOR. RAYMuNn LMELLEMA 94-AT T DEWEY States Patent ENGRAVER swrrcn Raymond L. Mellema, Syracuse,NY. Application January 24, 1955, Serial No. 483,566

1 Claim. 01. 33-23 This invention relates to engraving apparatus andmore particularly to a stylus rest and automatic control for suchapparatus.

In engraving apparatus, there is provided a pantograph or parallelogramlinkage, one corner of which is pivotally mounted, and the oppositecorner of which is provided with a stylus for following the master copytemplates. The pantograph carries a power-driven cutting tool, which isadapted to engage the work piece to be engraved. In such apparatus, thepower-driven cutting tool is generally allowed to operate continuously,and if the work is to be interrupted, no provision is made forconveniently assuring that the power operation of the cutting tool willbe discontinued. During interruptions on any particular piece ofengraving, there is always danger of spoiling the work throughaccidental contact of the cutting tool with the work, or the cuttingedge of the cutting tool may be damaged by accidental contact withclamps and other parts, while under rotation.

The present invention is directed to a rest support for the stylus ofsuch apparatus, the rest support having automatic provision fortie-energizing the power-driven cutting tool, so that when use of theapparatus is temporarily discontinued, the cutting tool is inactive andthe danger of injuring the work or the tool is minimized. The inventionfurther has to do with a convenient accessory adapted to be mountedlaterally upon the base of an engraver, which accessory is provided withan elastic circuit breaker for controlling the power to the cuttingtool, the circuit breaker being automatically actuated when the stylusis placed upon a rest, forming a part of the accessory.

The above and other novel features of the invention will appear morefully hereinafter from the following detailed description, when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is expressly understoodthat the drawings are employed for purposes of illustration only and arenot designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, referencebeing had for this purpose to the appended claim.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure l is a top plan view of an engraver to which the accessory hasbeen applied;

Figure 2 is a sectional view through the rest and switch mechanism;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken line 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a wiring diagram.

In the drawings there is shown an engraver comprising a base 10, havinga rear extension 12 upon which the pantograph support 13 and pantograph14 is pivotally mounted, and a forward raised template supporting deck16. The pantograph comprises parallel links 18 and 20 pivotallyconnected to links 22 and 24. The pivotal connection between the links18 and 24 are mounted upon a pivot post 26 carried on a bridge 28,having spaced parallel bars 27 which are slidably mounted within ansubstantially on the adjustable support sleeve 30. Such sleeve isvertically adjustable upon a post 32 extending upwardly from theextension 12. The links 18, 20 and 22 are provided with spacedperforations to permit variation in the dimensions of the parallelogramformed by the links.

The link 22 has a rearward extension 34 upon which is mounted a motor36, which motor drives the cutting tool shaft 38 by a belt drive 40. Thelink 20 is extended forwardly as at 42 and is provided with a stylus 44,the lower end of which is adapted to ride in the grooves 46 of thetemplate 48 mounted on the deck 16. The work piece 50 being engraved ismounted upon the base 10 by clamps 52. Such clamps are adapted to bemounted in any of the threaded apertures 54 so that any form of workpiece can be accommodated, and positioned as desired.

Secured against the side of the raised deck portion 16 is an arm 56 theupper end of which is stepped, and upon which is mounted a switchhousing 58 and a protector cup 60. The switch housing is composed of apair of side plates 62 and 64 flanged along their top and bottom edges,the side plates being mounted upon a base plate 66, the forward end ofwhich is upwardly turned as at 68 to form a partial end closure, andextend to the bottom wall 70 of the cup 60. The housing is closed by acover and end plate 72, which is secured to the upper flanges 74 and 76or" the side plates 62 and 64.

The cup 60 is cut away as at 78 on the side facing the housing 58.Within the housing there is provided a strap arm 80 pivotally mounted ona pin 82, the latter extending between the side plates 62 and 64. Thestrap 80 extends into the cup 60 and has mounted on the upper sidethereof a plastic receptor or cup 84, which acts as a rest for thestylus 44.

Within the housing is a micro switch 86, the actuating member 88 ofwhich engages the underside of the strap arm 80, so that when the weightof the stylus 44 rests within the cup 84, the switch will be actuated tothe oif position. The switch is mounted upon the side plate 64 of thehousing 58. The housing is also provided with a manual switch 90 in theside plate 62 and a plug receptacle 92 in the side plate 64. A conductorhaving a male plug 94 leads into the housing 58. The receptacle 92 isadapted to receive the plug 96, leading to the motor 36, and as shown inFigure 4, an electrical circuit is provided whereby the switch 86 andthe switch 90 are in series with one lead 98 from the plug 94, therebeing provided another lead 100 leading from the other terminal of theplug 94 to the other terminal of the receptacle 92.

It will thus be seen that a convenient accessory is provided for anengraver in which at any time it is desired to temporarily discontinueoperation of the apparatus, the stylus may be allowed to rest in the cup84, whereupon immediately the switch 86 is actuated to open the circuitto the cutting tool driving motor 36. If it be desired to open thecircuit so as to discontinue the operation of the driving motoraltogether, without having the stylus at rest in the cup 84, the switch90 may be manually actuated to break the circuit. It will be appreciatedthat the danger of damage to work in process or the tool will beminimized by such apparatus, in that whenever it is desired totemporarily discontinue operation, there is a convenient rest to receivethe stylus and the power to the motor is automatically interrupted whenthe stylus is placed at rest in the cup 84 forming such rest.

Although a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it is to be understood that the invention is not limitedthereto. As various changes in the construction and arrangement may bemade without departing from the spirit of the invention, as will beapparent to those skilled in the art, reference will be had to theappended claim for a definition of the limits of the invention.

- What is claimed is:

In combination with an engraving machine having a stylus and a motordriven cutter, a stylus operated control switch for the motor comprisingan upwardly curved support arm having means at its lower end foraflixation to the engraving machine, and a switch housing at the upperend, a lever extending laterally from Within said housing, a stylus restcomprising a shallow flat bottom plastic cup mounted on the exposed endof said lever, a switch mounted within said housing and having anupwardly extending operating pin, said lever being pivoted on saidhousing and extending over and contacting said operating pinfor'actuating said switch to open circuit in response to the weight ofthe engraver stylus on said rest, a fixed cup mounted upon the upper endof said arm adjacent said housing, and immediately beneath said restcup, said fixed cup spacedly embracing said rest cup to protect the sameand having an opening in one side through which said lever extends, andcircuit means in- Cluding said switch adapted to be GOnnected with theengraver motor, whereby power to said motor is interrupted when theengraver stylus engages said plastic cup.

erenees Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,217,036McManus Feb. 20, 1917 1,912,748 Wilson June 6, 1933 2,146,710 BloomfieldFeb. 14, 1939 2,196,720 Beard et a1. Apr. 9, 1940 2,481,658 GruettnerSept. 13, 1949 2,549,929 Rehfeldt Apr. 24, 1951 2,561,663 Keckley July24, 1951 2,699,606 Breau Jan. 18, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 197,659Switzerland Aug. 1-, 1938,

